What's New at EwA?

We spent most of the summer outside! We surveyed and monitored the local biodiversity as part of our citizen science program; we scouted new areas for new programs; we talked 'birds and trees' all over the place. We Nature journaled while discussing ecology and ethics... And we did that with you along our side!

We met new people, new volunteers, new conservationists and nature enthusiasts who want to be part of what we do. We made new friends. We've learned so much with you, and we enjoyed it tremendously. 

So, what great things happened this past season exactly? 

In spring, we established partnerships with great local organizations, including the Friends of the Fells, the Somerville Community Growing Center, the Cambridge Center for Adult for Education. Since then, we also started collaborating with the Fresh Pond Reservation, and the Goddard House.

This summer, our collaborations translated into 25 Nature events run in various locations in Massachusetts... 25!  

With the support of these organizations, we are repairing a great 'missing link': the People—Nature link. Together, we connect directly to our physical environment through Nature walks and immersion experiences, citizen science, birding, seminars on biodiversity literacy and ecological ethics, and nature journaling. We expose people to the wonderful Nature treasures that we have in our immediate vicinity. We make the communities aware of each other's Nature resources. We learn together. Our experiences bridge across genders, age groups, social and cultural backgrounds. In short, we bring communities together around the common denominator of bettering ourselves through discovering, understanding and protecting Nature.

These programs also serve as pilots for providing our freely accessible online EwA Nature Circles activities. For those unfamiliar with our Circles program, it provides our members with both a framework for creating their own Nature club, as well as experiential learning activity outlines, which blend biodiversity, ecology, citizen science, ethics and art [Read More →].

Out There & in the News...

In August, we attended our first Boston Biodiversity Consortium, where we gave an overview of Earthwise Aware to a committed group of nature conservationists. We are very thankful to have this community welcoming us with such enthusiasm. We're here to stay!

Thanks to our Friends of the Fells partners, we got to meet Nell Porter Brown (Harvard Magazine) who interviewed us for a piece about the Fells, and that was published in the September issue. We're very grateful! [Go To Article →]   

Citizen science (continued)

It's very exciting to see our different biodiversity mapping projects growing. We are actively maintaining 2 projects on iNaturalist, which together have recorded more than  2540 observations covering 1069 different species and ID'd by 498 identifiers! Just to make it more impressive, this is the result of less than a year of recording.

Our motto: Nature Conservation as a Way of Life  followed Dan in Romania! Last month, Dan visited his family. While on vacation, he supplied a great number of observations to our global biodiversity mapping project that we maintain on iNaturalist. We followed Dan's travel through his observation records, and learned so much along the way about the species that he encountered in the Danube river basin (the most biodiverse region in Europe).

Myself, I am about to leave for Mongolia on a self-funded conservation mission. I'll be mostly in Khustain Nuruu National Park monitoring Przewalski's horse. These horses are an ancient species of horses that was extinct in the wild in the 60s. They got reintroduced in the 80s from a few individuals that had been bred in captivity. Over there, I will work on several important topics: citizen science, conservation species reintroduction, and a habitat etiquette. I'll also be networking and connect with new wildlife conservation colleagues.

Guides, Etiquettes & Activities

2018 is the Year of the Bird, so we've all been busy talking a little more about birds, including our contributing authors. Sam wrote about the plight of the Great green macaw earlier this year. This July, Carolina shared her experience as a guardian of hooded grebes in Patagonia. Nathan is currently working on an article about bioaccumulation including its effect on marine wildlife and pelagic birds.

On the EwA Guides content front, we revised our Birding Etiquette (a.k.a. the EwA Bird Rules) with the help of bird expert colleagues.
We are about ready with a conservation fieldwork essentials to help us all scientists, volunteers and explorers keep our impact at a minimum when we're out there working or enjoying wildlife .
We are very excited to be working on a wetland-specific set of guides, etiquettes, and activities, that will also be the perfect companions for a wetland citizen science program that will start this coming spring. Preview of what's to come: vernal pool tracking, sampling, monitoring and certification; wetland plant community assessment, and so much more! Exciting, right?    

Remember that we also run what we call spontaneous Nature Circles, that aren't tied to the programs run in collaboration with our partners. Basically, if some Nature events take place somewhere close, then we just go and invite you to join us on a whim. Subscribe to our events calendar for the ones to come. If you're around, join us: They're a lot of fun!

What's Next? More (of course)! 

Fall is here, so we're about to add new Fall-focused Nature Circle activities (including nature journaling and sketching) for you to try anywhere you are. We're planning a few local nature circles as well. If you're around, how about you join one of these circles and enjoy with us the delights of Fall (check our events calendar or follow us on Facebook or Eventbrite).

We also have a few different and exciting habitats & wildlife guides in the making, to help us manage ourselves better in various habitats and with particular species. A next big one is about amphibians and reptiles.

A note about fundraising: We promised you an article explaining the fundraising reality for our kind of environmental nonprofits, and that is coming. This is on my todo list for when I come back from Mongolia. Stay tuned!

All that we do could not happen without your support. We are so grateful to have you in our community!

Thanks and have a marvelous Autumn!